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Workflow scope

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Workflow scope

Workflow application scope determines the access that an application has to the
information in a workflow, specifically to the data contained in the activities in that
workflow.

When a workflow is created, it inherits the application scope from the gear menu for the logged
in user. This scope cannot be changed in the workflow editor. When the workflow executes, it runs
in this scope and can only be called from a different application if the workflow’s accessibility
setting permits access to all scopes (public). Otherwise, the workflow’s application scope is
private to the application.

Note: Any script that is created in the workflow editor, such as an advanced script
in an If activity, runs in the scope of the workflow. All core activities
provided in the base system or for Orchestration run in the scope of the workflow.

Custom activities run in their own scope, even if it is different from that of the workflow.
The scope of a custom activity can be private or public. Any script that runs inside a custom
activity with a scope can only access outside artifacts that are within the scope of that
activity or artifacts that are configured to run in any scope. Conversely, an outside artifact
can only access the script inside that private activity if the outside artifact is running in the
same scope. Activities with public scopes can interact with outside artifacts in any application
scope.

You can use private activities as part of a workflow that has a public application scope. These
activities are protected from reaching outside of the workflow or from being reached from outside
the workflow. For details about setting application scoping for custom activities, see the field
description table for the appropriate activity template.

Note: Custom activities uploaded to the ServiceNow Store must be configured as
accessible to all application scopes.